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Program Description

Get the Tools You Need to Successfully Tackle Challenging Water Law Cases

The fight for "liquid gold" is getting ugly. With developers, government officials, energy companies, tribal leaders, utility companies, farmers and others putting water in their crosshairs, more and more attorneys are taking on these complicated cases. This focused legal program is packed with the latest and greatest legal strategies for protecting your client's water rights and use. Whether you're an experienced water law attorney or new to the practice area, this program will provide you with practical tools to tackle water law cases. Register today!

Gain the tools you need to handle evaluation, development, adjudication, legislation and acquisition of water rights.

Get the fundamentals of water law down, learn critical terminology and find out how to simplify the adjudication process.

Hear the most recent case law, review recent legislative updates and understand the interaction between federal, state and local water law regulations.

Learn how to evaluate water rights, what evidence you need to look for, where to get it and how to apply it to litigation.

Examine emerging hydraulic fracturing, tribal and geothermal water law issues.

Overcome ethical challenges of representing more than one client in a river system.

Who Should Attend

This basic-to-intermediate level seminar is designed for those who are involved in water rights disputes and transactions, use, regulation and protection of water resources. The following should attend:

Accreditation Details:

This course has been approved by the Oklahoma Bar Association Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Commission for 7.0 hours of CLE credit, which includes 1.0 hour of legal ethics.

OtherAAPL - 6.00

Includes -
Ethics - 1.00

This program may qualify for CPL/RPL credits. Please contact the American Association of Professional Landmen (AAPL) at 817-847-7700 for more information.AICP - 6.00This activity has been approved by American Institute of Certified Planners for 6.0 CM credits, including 1.5 law credits. 100% attendance is required to receive CM credit.IACET - 0.60NBI, Inc. is accredited by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) and is authorized to issue the IACET CEU.
NBI, Inc. is authorized by IACET to offer 0.60 CEUs for this program. At the end of the program, participants must complete a self-assessment in order to receive credit. 100% attendance is required. (Provider #1004558)

Upon completion of this course, attendees should be able to:
1. State two tips for making the adjudication process easier.
2. List two recent court rulings regarding water law.
3. Describe how to apply hydrology to litigation.
4. State two tips for handling water right transfers.
5. List two litigation strategies for tackling ownership disputes.
6. State two tactics for how to tackle emerging hydraulic fracturing water law issues.
7. Restate how to overcome ethical challenges of representing more than one client in a river system.

KAYLEE P. DAVIS-MADDY is an attorney with Doerner Saunders Daniel & Anderson LLP, where she practices in the areas of commercial, healthcare, environmental and water law. Although primarily a litigator, Ms. Davis-Maddy’s practice is full service, assisting her clients and their needs that span the employment, commercial, real property, regulatory and administrative fields. She is an accomplished water attorney, regularly assisting clients in asserting, obtaining and protecting their water rights in court or at state agencies. Ms. Davis-Maddy’s clients include small and large municipalities, corporations, landowners and family farmers. She is a member of the Oklahoma Bar Association (treasurer of Environmental Law), the Oklahoma County Bar Association, and the American Bar Association. Ms. Davis-Maddy received her B.A. degree, summa cum laude, Letters, from the University of Oklahoma; and her J.D. degree, cum laude, from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law.

SARA D. GIBSON currently serves as deputy general counsel at the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, where her duties include acting as hearing examiner on behalf of the board. She attended Oklahoma City University, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in 2001, and a Juris Doctorate degree in 2004. Prior to joining the OWRB, Ms. Gibson worked as an attorney for the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality and the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department.

TRAE GRAY is the founder of LandownerFirm.com, and maintains a nationwide natural resource practice (as both a trial lawyer and mediator) from his ranch in Coal County, Oklahoma. Mr. Gray’s primary clients are landowners, farmers, and ranchers. He serves as the president of the Coal County Bar Association and the city attorney (civil and criminal) for the city of Coalgate, and is also the city judge in Caney, Oklahoma. Mr. Gray is a graduate of the Western Trial Advocacy Institute and Gerry Spence's Trial Lawyers College. He earned his B.S. degree from the CASNR at Oklahoma State University, his M.B.A. and J.D. degrees from Oklahoma City University, and his LL.M. degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Law.

KRYSTINA PHILLIPS is an attorney with Indian and Environmental Law Group, PLLC. She practices in the areas of water law, natural resources and environmental law, and Indian law. Ms. Phillips' practice includes litigation in both federal and state courts, as well as practicing before the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, the Oklahoma Department of Mines, and the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality. Notably, she represents Citizens for the Protection of the Arbuckle-Simpson Aquifer (CPASA). Ms. Phillips assisted with the passage of Senate Bill 597 (2011), which regulates groundwater withdrawals from surface mining over the Arbuckle-Simpson Aquifer. She also works with several Indian tribes on matters ranging from fee-to-trust applications to negotiations with the state. Ms. Phillips is the co-author of an article published in the Oklahoma Law Review entitled “Rediscovering the Roots of Oklahoma Groundwater Law in One of Its Newest Statutes: Senate Bill 597.” She graduated, magna cum laude, from Oklahoma State University.